Chickpea & Spinach Fritters In Appe Pan 😋

Some healthy choices are made when you notice an increasing belly fat 😜 and still cannot give up indulging, like example deep fried fritters with tea is a combo made in heaven, irresistible😋.

But this is the time I chose Appe pan to make this spinach and chickpea fritters and it is super tasty made in just a tsp of oil. Who cares than, rather keep on gobbling by keeping your worries aside with evening cup of tea.😍😍

Ingredients:-

1 Cup Boiled chickpeas

1 Cup Spinach Fine chopped

2 medium size boiled potato 

3 pods of crushed garlic

2 -3 green chilies finely chopped

1 tsp grated ginger 

1/4 cup fresh chopped green coriander 

1 tsp Cumin powder

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp of dry mango powder (aamchur)

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste 

Method:-

In a bowl, mash boiled chickpeas and boiled potato together. Add in chopped spinach, grated ginger- garlic, chopped green chilies and green coriander and all the spices mentioned above in the ingredient list.

Mix all thoroughly. Take equal portion and make equal size small balls which can fit in to Appe pan.

Turn the flame on with Appe pan on it, drop about 1/2 tsp of oil in each cavity and once it is hot, drop the spinach balls in each cavity and allow it to cook on medium flame for about 2 minutes or until it's nice golden brown, flip and further cook for 2-3 minutes in the same way.

This is the nonstick Appe pan with six lemon sized cavity.

Serve it with green coriander or mint chutney or with a mustard dip as I did..

Perfect evening treat with a cup of hot Indian tea.  

Aam Panna (Raw Mango Drink)

When summers are around, body tends to dehydrate easily and now a days with so much warm climate and long sun light exposure might take you to a heat stroke. With so hot and warm climate fluids levels in the body needs to be balance so as to protect it from heat strokes. And raw mangoes are the best source of it, keeps your body cool. Remembering  my childhood, how my mum use to make this healthy and refreshing drink for us and it was compulsory everyday drink during summers. 

Aam Panna is the best way to keep your body hydrate and balncing fluid levels. It is a perfect thirst quencher which acts as an shield against heat. It detoxifies your body from within. Do try this drink and am sure you are gonna love this.

You can make a bottle full of it as I did and store it into a refrigerator for upto a week.

Ingredients:-

700 gms Raw Mango

2 tsp Black Salt

1/2 cup Fresh Mint Leaves

2 tsp Roasted Cumin Seeds

2 tsp Lemon juice

200 gms sugar

Salt to taste

Water to boil

Chaat masala to sprinkle 

Method:-

Pressure cook Raw mangoes in water.

Once pressure cooked mango is slightly cool, peel its outer skin or it can be easily removed by hands too (It will become soft and pulpy).

Do not throw the water in which mangoes were boiled. (I used the same while blending)

Take out the mango pulp and straightway throw it into a blender jar along with all the ingredients listed above and the water in which mangoes were boiled.

Blend until smoothie like texture add more water if necessary..

Serve it with the cubes of ice and a sprinkle of chaat masala.

Garnish with mint leaves and your perfect summer drink is ready to sip...ahhhaa so refreshing !!!😋😋

Drink atleast one glass of this refreshing drink a day. It's so delicious when chilled. ❤️❤️

Melt-In-mouth Butter Cookies

 Butter cookies are the one which mostly many of us have grew eating this. Especially the local bakery butter cookies in my hometown  were one of my favourite, they were Simply superb and melt in mouth.  

Well this is the one near to its taste, utterly buttery delicious 😋😋😍😍 perfect crunch from outside and soft crumblier from inside...as I said its "Melt in mouth Cookies"❤️

Ingredients:-

1 1/2 Cup All purpose flour

3/4 Cup butter at room temperature 

4 tbsp Corn Starch

1 Egg yolk

4 1/2 tbsp castor sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence 

1 tsp Baking powder

Method:-

In a large bowl, mix all purpose flour with cornstarch and baking powder. Mix well and keep it aside.

In another large bowl, beat butter slightly  and later add in castor sugar. (I used my electric mixture to beat the butter and sugar).

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Now add in vanilla essence and egg yolk. Beat the mixture again until yolk in the butter and sugar mix turns light and fluffy. 

Now add in the flour and keep beating. Scrap down the sides of the bowl with spatula. It will be little crumbly. Use your hands and gather all the crumbly flour mixture in to a dough.

Transfer the cookie dough on to a plastic cling film. Roll it in to a tube in 3 1/2 cm thickness, wrap well and transfer it in to a refrigerator for half and hour.

Preheat oven at 180degree Celsius.

Bring out the dough, unwrap and slice into 1 1/2 cm thickness with a clean knife.

Line a baking tray with a parchment paper, arrange the sliced cookies by keeping at least 2-3 cm distance between each cookies. 

With the back of the fork, press each cookies gently to get that classic look.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until lightly brown.

Bring it out from the oven and allow it stand for 5 minutes in the tray itself. Later transfer it on to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before filling a jar.

And here your melt in mouth cookies ready to serve.

 

 

Homemade Easy Digestive Biscuits/ Crackers

Early Morning tea is an therapy to me. It rejuvenates and prepares me to start my day, so early morning bed tea is important and a must sip to me. And how I wont make that first sip even more special by adding that personal touch. 

Usually me and my husband prefer having rusk with our first tea, dip dip and in to the mouth with hot cuppa. Aaahhh this awakens us.!!

So to be even more awakened with our sip, I thought to try something on my own and this is what came to my mind, whole wheat and oats digestive biscuits.., healthy start, Isn't it!!

Perfect crunch and crisp, and on top it's a home made, awakens us freshly and happily...!!

Mine got little dark after 10 minutes of baking, I didn't keep a check. May be next time I shall cover it with a foil as soon before it starts darkening. But it doesn't taste burnt at all. Infact the texture, crumb and crispness seems perfect to me...only the darkening is to be taken care next time.!! So let's start.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup Five grain cereal rolled oats coarse grinded or oats flour (you can use instant oats or any rolled oats, mine is mix of five grains oats made with flax seeds)

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup light and soft brown sugar

3 tbsp white caster sugar 

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

65 grams or half stick of butter 

3 tbsp of milk to form a biscuit dough

Method:

In a large bowl, mix whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, coarse grinded oats, salt, light soft brown sugar, caster sugar and baking soda. Mix all well.

Now add butter (doesn't matter if it is cold than)

Mix butter well with your both hand by rubbing the flour between your palms. At the end when butter is mixed in, it should give you a bread crumb like sight.

Now add milk, bring all the ingredients together to form a dough. Dough will be soft due to butter but will not be sticky at all. 

Transfer the dough in to plastic cling film, wrap it tightly by spreading a little with your fingers and put it in to the refrigerator for minimum 1 hr. (This will help to roll the dough perfectly, else it will stick )

After 1 hrs, bring it out. 

Open the cling wrap, and let the dough on the film.

To roll it easily, cover the top with another cling film. This will be easy to roll without dusting flour on surface..

Meanwhile preheat your oven at 180 degree Celsius.

Sides will crack, but not a problem, keep going by pinching the crack a little.

Roll it in to a large square with rolling pin, it should not be thin, but atleast minimum of 1/8-1 inch thickness..

Cut it with a round cookie cutter or any shape of your choice.

Place all the cut cookies on a baking tray lined with a parchment paper.

Again, Gather the sides of the dough, re roll it and cut.

Bake the biscuits at 180 degree Celsius in preheated oven for 18 minutes. (Mine got lil dark after ten minutes of baking so I covered the top with a foil and baked further. I insist you to keep a check)

After baking, bring it out of the oven, let the biscuits be in tray for 2-3minutes. 

Later transfer it on a wire rack and allow it to cool completely and store in an air tight container.

Baked And Matar (Pea) stuffed baatis

This is not my first time in baking baatis, I did baked before, In fact I mostly bake them as i don't have the proper and traditional  baati cooker, my mom and my didi always have made baatis in baati cooker and I love that soooo much, the taste the texture and the crumb of it, simply too good it tastes...when I asked my mom about baking baatis, she was not having much idea about it, it's when I posted plain baatis. So I quickly searched on google at what temperature it gives perfect texture, mostly I read baatis are baked at high temperature in proper oven. But when I made first time, don't know where I read and baked at 180 celsius (slow baking for baatis are not recommended I think) and they turned out to be little hard. So this time while baking I made sure to keep a check on time, as well as to be sure first with timings and temperature, don't wanted to end up with some hard texture.. So after lots of reads I finally nailed to the correct baking time and temperature, and it was yippee yeeyyyy moment,  it came out so perfect, not harrddddd at allllll.. The texture and crumb was really perfect and reminded me of my mumma's baatis.. 

So this time I have stuffed the baatis with pea and potatoes(matar and aloo) mixture. And this is speciality  of M.P (Madhya Pradesh,India) where it is known as masala baatis. You can stuff with any stuffing of your choice, for example you can use dals too for stuffing. My mother in law makes kachori stuffed with moong dal, me and my husband go crazy over it, may be next time I'll be baking baatis stuffed with moong dal...😍😍 

Ingredients: 

For Baati dough:

3 cups of whole wheat flour

1 cup semolina (sooji/rawa)

1/3 cup chickpea flour (besan)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup and lil more ghee (clarified butter) or you can also use any vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp of carom seeds (ajwain)

2 tsp of grounded fennel powder (saunf powder)

Salt to taste

And water to knead in to dough

For stuffing or filling:

2 cups of fresh or frozen peas semi grinded (matar)

1 large boiled peeled and mashed potato

2 tbsp chick pea flour (besan)

3-4 green chillies's paste ( adjust the spice level suitable to your taste)

3 tsp grated ginger or fine paste

3 tbsp oil (any vegetable or light olive oil)

1/2 tsp black mustard (rai)

1/2 tsp whole cumin (Jeera)

1 tsp asafoetida powder (hing)

2 tsp roasted cumin powder (jeera powder)

1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi powder)

1 1/2 tsp chaat masala powder (optional)

1 tsp dry mango powder (aamchur)

2 tsp fennel powder (saunf powder)

1 1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Salt to taste

2-3 tbsp of fresh chopped green coriander

Method: 

For baati dough:

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients well, add water and knead in to semi firm dough, should not be sticky at all and it should be able to handle without dusting any flour.

Once kneaded cover and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes. Till time make baati stuffing.

For stuffing or filling:

In deep vessel pan or kadhai, heat oil, add mustard seeds. Once it starts crackling, add whole cumin and asafoetida powder with green chilly and ginger paste. Stir and turn flame to low, now add semi grind fresh or frozen peas. 

Allow it to cook and keep sauteing for 7-10 minutes on medium flame or until it changes its colour to dark green slightly. 

Now add mashed boiled large potato and chick pea flour. Mix well.

Add all the spices mentioned above and salt to taste. (Except chaat masala)

Mix all well and sautée for 2-3 minutes on medium flame.

Turn the flame off, now sprinkle chaat masala powder and add lemon juice. Mix the pea mixture well and keep it aside to cool for 5-10 minutes. 

 

For making stuffed baatis balls:

Uncover the baati dough and knead it for few seconds. Pull out the lemon size dough ball, spread the dough ball by keeping on your palm, spoon a large tsp of the pea and potato mixture. Lift the sides and seal the dough ball with mixture inside well. Roll between your palms and press slightly from middle with your fingers. Place the stuffed baati in greased baking tray lined with parchment paper. Stuff all the baatis the same way.

Meanwhile, Preheat oven at 220 degree Celsius.

Brush nicely all the baatis with ghee or oil before it goes inside oven.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in preheated oven at 220 degree Celsius. ( mine was nice light golden brown from outside after 12 minutes of baking, with perfect crumb)

Bring it out, let it cool for 5-10 minutes and dip all of the baatis in ghee or clarified butter. 

Serve it with Rajasthani panchkuti mix dal. My mom in law, makes baingan bharta with it, and so I did the same. And it tastes so yum..loll this is making me hungry :D 

Baked Moong Dal Masala Poori

Hey all, sorry for not posting much since few months, a news to share with all my dear readers, we have shifted here to Hong Kong🎊🎉 , a beautiful city known for its beautiful skyline with all tall corporate buildings, high end fashion brands to typical Chinese brands, variety of cuisines, a foodies hub😍 all in all a lovely place with beautiful people. Loving it..:)

With such beautiful place to stay in, I was thrilled to bake something (my first love) and nonetheless I planned to bake an Indian snack, moong dal masala poori. In India this pooris are deep fried with proper crisp texture, mostly we pair it with our masala tea for evening snack. But as I said earlier,  I was thrilled to bake and this is what the best opportunity was. So here is my healthy and baked version of crispy moong dal masala pooris...:)

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow moong dal flour (you can also soak yellow moong dal in water for 2-3 hours and later with a little water, grind it in to a fine paste like texture) 

1 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

1/4 cup of chickpea flour (besan)

2 tbsp of olive oil or sunflower oil

2 tsp white sesame seeds

1 1/2 tsp red chilly powder 

1 /2 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp dry mango powder (aamchur powder)

1 tsp roasted cumin powder

1 tsp chaat masala powder (optional)

2 tsp of hand crushed kasuri methi ( dry fenugreek leaves)

Salt to taste and 

Water at room temperature to knead into a stiff dough..!!

Method:

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients well. Add water, make sure to add little at time, we need stiff and firm dough and not soft at all ( it should be rolled without dusting flour).  

Note: If you are using soaked moong dal, make sure, water is already added while pulsing it, so be careful with water when kneading the poori dough.

Once the dough is kneaded, divide it into 5-6 equal portions.

Roll each portion in to round semi thin rotis.

Use cookie cutter for equal size and shape of pooris. Place the cut pooris in to slightly greased baking tray.

Preheat oven at 180degree Celsius for 20 minutes.

Once preheating is done, bake the pooris at 180 degree Celsius for 10-12 minutes until crisp and slight golden brown on outside.

Note: keep a close check after 9 minutes of baking. You don't want to burn them.

Once done allow it to cool on wire rack and store it in air tight container.

Yayyy, it's ready to munch...

Veg Mexican Burrito Bowl

Mexican Burritos bowls are mainly made with rice, beans, two to three types of sauces, sour cream and lettuce. We Visited a restaurant few months back, there we ordered burritos and my husband liked it much. The burrito that we had in restaurant, was a bang in mouth, as soon as you spoon in, you will have several taste of explosions in mouth. A tangy, little sour, spicy, juicy and super tasty burritos.
Well after tasting that, i was looking for the similar recipe or little close to its taste. Than i recalled, my cousin sister, who made this few months back at home, had whats app'ed me those images and i quickly called her up for her recipe, though she skipped guacamole and instead she used Green Coriander chutney but as i was having avocados readily available, I made Guacamole Spread..
So here the recipe goes...

Ingredients:

1)  For Minty Lemony Rice

1 1/2 cup Rice washed and boiled

1/4 cup small chopped Mint leaves

2 tsp lemon juice

Salt to taste

2)  For Guacamole
2 riped avocados mashed
1 small onion finely paste
3 green chilly finely paste
1 1/2 tsp ginger paste
2  pods of garlic finely paste
1/4 cup Fresh Green Coriander leaves, finely blended in to paste with a tbsp of olive oil
1 lemon's juice
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Yields: 1 full cup of Guacamole

3)  For Tomato Salsa Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup small chopped Italian Basil leaves
3 large Tomatoes Puree and 2 tbsp extra small chopped tomatoes
1 medium onion small chopped
1/4 cup of small chopped red bell pepper (Note: If you do not have Red bell peppers, you can skip and can use green bell pepper)
2 large pods of garlic finely paste
1 tsp ginger paste
3 Small green chillies finely paste
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp of store bought schezwan Chutney or Tomato paste (I have used schezwan chutney as Tomato paste wasn't handy, can use either or)
1 1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilly powder
Salt to taste
Yields: 1 1/2 cup  Sauce

4)  For Burrito bowl:
Above Boiled Minty Lemony Rice
Above Guacamole dip
Above Tomato Salsa Sauce
1/2 cup corn kernels boiled
1/2 cup small chopped onions
1/3 cup of red bell pepper
1/4 cup yellow bell pepper
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 cup of creamy beaten curd or yogurt (Traditionally it uses, sour cream, but it wasn't enough in qty so have used sour beaten creamy yogurt)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of boiled red kidney beans (Wash & Soak red beans overnight. Pressure cook it in with tsp of slat for 4-5 whistle and keep it ready)
1/2 cup small chopped Romanian Lettuce or shredded green cabbage


Recipe:

For Minty Lemony Rice:
Wash and boil the rice with mint leaves and lemon juice in it.
Meanwhile Prepare tomato salsa sauce and Guacamole

For Guacamole:

Peel the Avocados's outer skin and mash it with back of spoon or fork. Once Mashed, add onion paste, ginger -garlic-green chilly paste, fresh Green Coriander leaves finely blended in to paste with a tbsp of olive oil, lemon juice, pepper and salt to taste. Mix all well and here your dip or spread is ready.

For Tomato Salsa:

In a pan, heat oil and add small chopped onion, small chopped red bell pepper and saute for a while. Now add, tomato puree, small chopped tomatoes, Schezwan chutney or Tomato paste, ginger-garlic-green chilly paste, lemon juice, kashmiri red chilly powder and small chopped Italian basil. Mix all and cook for 2-3 minutes and turn the flame off..and here you are ready with your tomato salsa sauce.

For Burrito Bowl

Before readying the burrito bowl, firstly heat oil in a pan and saute small chopped onions, red & yellow bell pepper until soft. Add black pepper and salt to taste in it and turn the flame off. So here you have your fried Onion and pepper Mixture ready.

Now lets prepare the bowl with all the ready ingredients below..:

In a medium serving bowl, add 1/2 cup of rice and spread a little in a bowl, top it with boiled and salted red kidney beans, boiled corn kernels, fried onion and pepper mixture, Shredded cheddar cheese, 3 tbsp tomato salsa sauce, 3 tbsp guacamole, 3-4 tbsp of beaten creamy curd or yogurt, and garnish this layer with some more shredded cheese and lettuce or cabbage.
And here you are ready to serve your Burrito bowl